Days within a study may be represented relative to the reference start date represented in variable RFSTDTC or in relation to applicant-defined reference dates.
The SDTM allows for the representation of study days relative to the RFSTDTC reference start date variable in the DM dataset, using variables --DY, as described in Section 4.4.4, Use of the "Study Day" Variables. The calculation of additional study days within subdivisions of time in a clinical trial may be based on 1 or more sponsor-defined reference dates not represented by RFSTDTC. In such cases, the sponsor may define supplemental qualifier variables and the Define-XML document should reflect the reference dates used to calculate such study days. If the sponsor wishes to define "day within element" or "day within epoch", the reference date/time will be an element start date/time in the Subject Elements (SE) dataset (see Section 5.3, Subject Elements).